Cyanoacrylate adhesives are useful in a wide array of industrial and domestic applications. In order to accelerate the cure of the cyanoacrylate adhesive, a polymerization accelerator such as an aromatic amine, is applied to the surface of the cyanoacrylate. Such use is common for the attachment of a screen fabric to a frame in the serigraphic (silk screen) printing industry. The screen fabric is stretched and placed in taut and touching communication with the peripheral surface of a rigid frame structure. The frame structure, although generally flat or planar in configuration, can also be curvilinear or cylindrical in cross section. The cyanoacrylate adhesive is applied over the screen fabric portions in communication with the frame structure to contact the adhesive with the frame through the mesh of the screen fabric. Alternatively, the adhesive can be applied directly to the frame area which comes in contact with the screen fabric. The adhesive is generally applied as a bead by the use of a plastic squeeze bottle having a small opening in a dispensing nozzle and is then spread out such as with a spatula, a card or other suitable flat, generally flexible implement. This flattens out the adhesive bead over the surface of the screen, assists in pressing adhesive through the mesh of the screen and provides proper contact of the adhesive with all portions of the screen in contact with the frame. In the case of large openings between adjacent fibers or low adhesive viscosity, the adhesive does not require pressing to pass through the openings of the fabric.
Various techniques are described in the prior art for contacting the cyanoacrylate adhesive with a polymerization accelerator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,783 of Oct. 27, 1987 to W. H. Mason sprays a polymerization accelerator on the cyanoacrylate such as with an aerosol propellant. In spraying the accelerator, accelerator particles contaminate the work place and when an aerosol is used in the spray, volatile organic contaminants are placed in the atmosphere. Additionally, spraying techniques and use of aerosol is wasteful of accelerator. Furthermore, after the adhesive is cured, it has a rough surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,200 of Nov. 16, 1993 to A. Puder accelerates the cure of cyanoacrylate adhesive in uses such as that of the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,783 patent. However, instead of contacting the adhesive with the accelerator, the method of this U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,200 patent contacts the screen which in turn is in contact with the frame with an absorbent wicking material that is permeated with accelerator solution. The cyanoacrylate is subsequently applied over the screen which has been previously contacted with the accelerator. The applicator used for applying the accelerator is similar to a felt tip pen marker. This method is time consuming, requires the use of wicking material together with a holder and leaves a relatively rough surface on the adhesive. Furthermore, application of the accelerator is to the silk screen over the frame and not directly to the adhesive. This process is not as effective as applying the accelerator over the surface of the adhesive which overlies both the frame and screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,173 of Jul. 29,1980 to D. Hubbard discloses a method for bonding substrates of porous materials such as wood with cyanoacrylate by applying to the porous material a chalkable solid polymerization accelerator of a basic reacting solid material, such as sodium hydroxide, and then applying a coating of cyanoacrylate to at least one of the bonding surfaces before pressing the bonding surfaces together. The method disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,173 patent is time consuming since the chalkable material needs to be uniformly applied over the bondable surfaces. Furthermore, it is limited to the application of solid accelerator chalkable materials by rubbing over the surface of the wood or other porous material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,827 of Aug. 18, 1987 to L. Russo. Russo does not contact a cyanoacrylate adhesive with polymerization accelerator and is simply concerned with preventing a low viscosity cyanoacrylate from bonding brush bristles in a bottle containing cyanoacrylate. Russo pre-wets brush bristles with an anhydrous solvent, such as acetonitrile, which can then be placed in a bottle of cyanoacrylate adhesive so that the adhesive does not bond to the bristles.